NOW Hear This: September 29, 2023 Newsletter

Message from National NOW President Christian F. Nunes

Greetings Feminists,

As September winds down, I want to thank everyone for taking the time to focus on their allyship this month and ensure they are taking steps to be effective and active allies. We must all commit to constantly and consistently putting in the work to be true advocates.  

The end of September also brings the unwelcome news of an impending government shutdown. This shutdown would have a devastating impact on women, children, and families nationwide — especially women of color, young people, and those living in rural areas. Vital nutrition assistance, such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is at risk. This is concerning as programs such as these serve nearly half of the babies that are born in our country. Further restrictions would directly impact abortion access and reproductive health services. And workers’ rights and a woman’s ability to thrive in the workplace are also under direct threat with the proposed cuts to funding for the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  

As members of NOW, we stand for women, children, and families having the ability to live their lives freely and safely, uninhibited by extremists seeking to control and restrict. As allies, let’s continue to speak out against this looming shutdown and raise awareness in our communities for these programs and services that help so many. NOW has never been one to stand back in the face of injustice and we won’t start now.  

In solidarity, 

Christian 

Contra Costa NOW is pleased to announce the winners of its third annual university scholarships.  The scholarships, for $1000 each, were earmarked for two women of color based on their academic and social-activism accomplishments.

Manahil Syeda, 17, is currently a student at Diablo Valley College with a GPA of 3.95, and will be attending UC Berkeley in the fall.  Among her notable activities are developing a curriculum on coding for her fellow students, excelling as a member of the debate and speech team, advocating for students with disabilities, organizing volunteer opportunities for students, and helping young Muslim women, including Afghan refugees, to acclimate to their new environment, all while maintaining a rigorous academic schedule.

Georgina Prado, 31, is attending Contra Costa College with a GPA of 3.4, is currently working as an Emergency Room technician, and plans to become a nurse.  She is also a member of the Emergency Room Safety Committee, where she seeks to improve patient and staff safety standards. She has served as a volunteer with the West Contra Costa Youth Soccer League and a Community Mural Painting project.  In addition to being an ER technician and a student, she is the mother of a young son.

Juneteenth as a Commemoration and Celebration 

June 15, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – As the Fourth of July approaches, I urge NOW members to remember that “liberty and justice for all” did not apply to everyone until much later.  June 19th marks the day when federal troops marched into Galveston, Tex. in 1865 to take control and make certain that all enslaved people were freed – two and a half full years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth has had many names over the years: Emancipation Day, Liberation Day, Freedom Day but it wasn’t until 2021 when the day was finally recognized as a federal holiday.  

Juneteenth serves as a day to remember the past, acknowledge the present, and fight for the future. The legacy of slavery persists in both overt and subtle forms with systemic racism being intricately entangled in this country’s criminal justice, education, housing, and healthcare systems in addition to other vital aspects of life. Now more than ever, it is important that in commemorating those that came before us, we do not shy away from the fact that racial injustice is not a relic of the past. Instead, we must actively combat it in its many forms everyday. Attempts to ban Black history and books that educate people on the United States’ dark past must continue to be blocked at every turn as they are constant reminders that the fight continues in the midst of opposition.   

While it is necessary to reckon with the struggles, we cannot be defined by it. We must also celebrate Black resilience and resistance in the face of continued adversity and discrimination. NOW is committed to fighting racial injustice, and we rededicate ourselves to dismantling systems of oppression that exclude and restrict rather than include and protect. I encourage you to join us as we work for equality for all.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.

In solidarity,
Christian F. Nunes
President

Over-the-Counter Contraception is a Necessity 

May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – – In a historic move, an FDA advisory committee of outside experts unanimously voted to approve nonprescriptive contraception for over-the-counter (OTC) use. Sixty-three years since the FDA first approved hormonal birth control medication, this no-prescription birth control pill can vastly expand reproductive justice for all women. 

Nonprescription, over-the-counter contraceptives are safe and have been available in more than 100 countries for years. Once formally approved by the FDA, this decision will provide a critical lifeline to marginalized women living in rural areas, on reservations, and in poverty-impacted communities. With increasing attacks on our reproductive freedoms, this news could not have come at a more critical moment. More than ever, women need better access to resources that empower them to take control of their reproductive decisions moving forward.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.

In solidarity,
Christian F. Nunes
President

THE ISSUE

In less than two weeks, there could well be no access to one of the safest methods of abortion available, medication abortion, now used in a majority of abortions in the U.S.  – and widely used around the world. An anti-abortion organization, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, filed a lawsuit in November demanding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) withdraw their approval of medication abortion. The judge has set a briefing deadline for February 24^th.

See link below for full details.

Medication Abortion Access Threatened by Texas Judge – NOW led the Effort to Bring Medication Abortion to the U.S. – Help Us Fight This 

We are at a transformational shift to a new era of gender equality in the United States, with feminist women holding some of the most consequential levers of power. 

Kamala Harris, a Black woman of South Asian descent, is the first woman vice president; for the first time in U.S. history, President Joe Biden has appointed equal numbers of women (now at 48%) to the Cabinet; and the House of Representatives is led by a feminist woman, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and feminists chair some of the most powerful committees including Rep. Maxine Waters of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of the Appropriations Committee and Rep. Carolyn Maloney of the Oversight and Reform Committee. 

There’s no denying that 2021 is going to be an exciting, impactful and critically important year in the long struggle for gender equality.

In this time of conflict and uncertainty Contra Costa NOW would like to express our support for the dismantling of institutional, cultural, and interpersonal racism that exists in our society.  We condemn the policies that allow our government agencies to target, discriminate, and enact violence against people of color and their supporters.  We mourn for the death of every person targeted by these shameful policies.  We encourage all of our members to renew their commitment to working toward a society which values peace, equality, and justice for all of its citizens.